The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1887-09-23
.ssNeFlTs OF PROJECTIONS

BENEFITS or PROJECTIONS
The Disaster Brsaght By Low rariAs ise
Century past.
There d much loose talk about the danger -
business interests being sacrificed by tariff
| reduction. but the fact remains that there has
not been . tariff reduction for nifty years from
| which business has Jailed to beneat. We have
| no doubt there would be similar result now
| Boston Herald.
This must have been written through
/, some inadvertency, caused by '.the
wish being father to the thought" as
no historical confederation exists Of
this assertion. but, on the contrary, the
facts are quite the reverse. The primal
act passed by the First Congress of
the United States was signed by Wash
ington July 4. 1779. imposing ''tluries
on goods, wares and merchandise inn
ported" this being necessary" the
preamble alleges. ''fOr the payment Of
the debts of the United States and the
encouragement and protection of MAN.
fractures"
In August, 1890. Washington. in .
message to an adjourned session of
Congress. stated that 1.-THE safety and
interest of the people require that they
should promote such manufactures as
will render the United States indie
pendent of others for essential sup
plies" This suggestion caused Sec
| Ond and more protective tariff being
! adopted in 1890. For twenty years
afterward additional tariff laws were
enacted by each succeeding Congress.
In 1912 the war necessitated very
material increase in the revenue. and
duties were enhanced one hundred per
cent. The result of the legislation
from 1890 in respect to the tariff up to
this time was the improvement of the
financial condition of the country.
| through the establishment of those
manufacturing industries which en-
couraged invention and increased the
material welfare of the working classes.
In 1916 the tariff was reduced and
general business depression ensued.
which resulted in higher rates of duties
being established in 1924; but this not
affording the necessary encouragement
to our manufacturers. owing to the
ruin occasioned by the low tariff of
1916, more protective scale Of duties
was adopted in 1928, chiefly through
the advocacy and influence of Henry
Clay and Daniel Webster.
In 1882 the free-trade sentiment Of
the South caused another material re-
ductiOn of the tariff, which was so dis
astrOus in its effects that it eliminated
in the financial crisis in 1887, through
the utter prostratiOn of our nanufac-
turing Industries. This almost uni
versal national bankruptcy so impov-
erished and Disguised the people that
they elected Protective President in
1910. William Henry Harrison, and
more protective tariff was established
in 1912. This resuscitated and kept
alive our decaying industries, and af-
forded labor considerable measure of
relief from the direful consequences of
the provisions of the tariff of 1882.
But in 1916, Notwithstanding its past
experience, the country partially
caught the infection of the free-trade
policy that England had commenced
SD indefatigably to preach to the world.
In spite of the disastrous effects the
latter revisions had upon our National
welfare, Congress traitorously reduced
the duties again to twenty-five per cent
in 1857. Then the country was
launched into greater business disas-
tor and ol rui,, fhoy,
perieHced before; and the two years
preceding our civil war were the dark
est. financially. that our people ever
witnessed.
The enactment of the Morrill, tariff,
in 1861. soon filled our depleted treas
ury, established new industries and re-
suscitated old ones, creating a Nation
al'credit thereby. which enabled us to
put down the rebellion. and has since
increased our annual National product
to 5000. 600. 600, supporting over 55.-
100000 of people.
Nine times in one hundred years the
United States has changed its tariff
policy, ard every time that duties
have been materially lowered q
business depression has occurred and
labor has been sent begging for en-
ployment. Have these occurrences
been mere condolences with which
the tariff has no connection, as the
free-trader asserts? No. They were
not condolences; they were the nat
ural effects of low duties, which en-
abled the pauper labor of Great Britain
to take the bread out of the mouths of
our working people. In the face Of the
prosperity of the last twenty years, does
any intelligent person really believe
that Protection has been any thing but
an immense advantage to the cOun-
try? The writer is prepared to state
conscienciously and emphatically that
the present colossal increase of wealth
of the United States of s43, 200. 900. 900
during the las: twenty-seven years has
been chiefly the result of the Morrill,
tariff. When we can make up our
minds that it is better for the inhab-
itants of this country to live like the
Chinese or French Canadians. then.
and not until then, should we favor
free trade or any approximation there
to.-C. z. Endicon. tn Boston Labor
Leader.
A Peace Protective Tariff:
The free-traders delight in calling
the tariff "a war tariff The present
g Of